To Run Free
by A Tragic Galaxy
Summary: An extra what happens inbetween for "Stone" and "Amidst the Winter Snow." Hanso has found himself in Anya's world, where neopets do not exist. When he runs away, he falls into the hands of two hunters. Read author's note.
1. New World

** A what happened in between for "Stone" and "Amidst the Winter Snow." **

** Author Warning:**

** This story contains some violence and hurt neopets. It is an extra, and although it is part of the plotline it does NOT have to be read with the other stories mentioned above. **

** Basically this is the idea of how dangerous it could be for neopet if he/she were to enter the human world.**

** If you like it, review. If no reviews, I'll probably discontinue.**

**...**

He had thought he would stand there forever. Day after day neopians would pass by, shaking their heads, looking over sympathetically at the sad fate of Faerieland's hero.

Hanso couldn't stand it when they had looked at him like that. Every day the same. Warnings from parents as they told their little ones of Xandra's demise. Praise over their great hero, as he stood frozen in his last, terrified moment.

They never understood.

No one ever realized how alive a statue could be. How painful it was to watch as neopians carried out their everyday duties, while one could not even breath, could not move their gaze from the sight directly in front of them.

Even Brynn never realized it she came to the courtyard every morning. Hanzo would yearn to speak to her, but how could he force the words past frozen lips?

No one ever knew. And he had been beginning to believe that no one ever would.

Then _she_ came. A faerie, Hanso was sure. And yet she had no wings. But she had touhed him. Understood the life that still sparked inside of him. She had freed him.

_"I am Anya," _she had whispered. _"You are free now."_

Free. Free at last. He could go home. And Brynn was waiting for him. With that last realization Hanso had fallen unconscious, and missed the most important warning Anya could have given him.

_"I must take you to my world for a time. They will not always look kindly upon you, but if you listen to my guidance I promise I will return you safely."_

He would regret later that he had not listened.

...

When he woke up the next morning (or so he hoped it was), Hanso had no idea where he was. The room certainly was not his own. In fact, it had no resemblence to any place Hanso had seen in Neopia.

The room was simply furnished, with white walls and drab brown and red curtains. There were a few pictures on the wall, but nothing too spectacular. Hanso stared around as he tried to get his bearings. The furniture was huge! Well, not that big of course, but certainly large enough for a grarrl to get along comfortably.

"I knew that was a faerie I saw," Hanso muttered as he rolled out of the large bed and smoothed out his wrinkled clothes. He must have fallen asleep wearing them.

Carefully he walked around the room, wrinkling his nose at the brown and red blotched carpet and the sparse furniture. Opening one of the bureau drawers, he was surprised to find several shirts and trousers close to his own style. Yep, this was a faerie all right. Only those with magic could have made things so perfectly.

Wrinkling his nose at his dirty outfit, Hanso quickly changed. He hoped that whoever the faerie was she wouldn't mind dirty laundry. Though it wasn't like he was about to worry about it much, really. When did he get so noble, anyhow?

A quick search of the room showed that there was nothing worth his time. A couple spare lightbulbs for the oversized lamp, several more changes of clothing, and a stray battery left in one of the drawers were all that Hanso could find.

"Guess she's not up to visitors much," Hanso muttered as he slid on his sleeveless coat. Or she just didn't trust him. _That_ made more sense.

Carefully he turned the doorknob, easing himself out of the room as silently as a mouse. Tiptoeing across the vibrant blue and green carpet, his ears twitched as clanging sounds echoed from the direction he assumed to be the kitchen.

Great! She was distracted. Time to make a clean getaway -

Hanso stopped as something growled to his right. He turned around slowly, and found himself looking directly into the eyes of a large creature.

It was a lupe - no, it wasn't! It was some strange neopet that Hanso had never seen before. Tall pointy ears, grey and white fur, yellow eyes, and large fangs protuding from a short snout made for quite the formidable monster. And it looked mad.

Hanso fumbled for his dagger, only to find it missing. Last he remembered he had left it buried in Xandra's disk, and who knew where it was now.

"Easy, fellow," he said in a shaky voice as he slowly backed away. "Easy..."

The creature leapt forward a pace and began barking loudly, drawing the attention of whoever was working in the kitchen.

Hanso knew he had run out of luck. He wheeled around and began to run.

The creature bounded after him, its feet scrabbling against plastic tiles as Hanso made a wrong turn and slid into the kitchen. His boots slipped on the slick floor, and he found himself falling...

"Rosco!"

The creature immediatly halted its attack and sat back, looking up at the speaker.

Hanso winced and looked up.

Anya was standing there, arms crossed and a huge scowl on her face. A large glob of batter dripped from the end of the wooden spoon she was holding, and the splatter on the walls gave testament to her startled reaction at Hanso's escapade.

"I see you finally decided to get up this morning," she chided before snapping her fingers at the creature.

Hanso watched as it camly padded over to the faerie and sniffed her hand.

"Rosco," Anya said sternly, "This is Hanso. He's going to be staying here a while. Don't touch him."

Rosco looked towards a flabergasted Hanso and back to his master.

"Go on," Anya ordered the creature, indicated her head towards Hanso's direction. "It's all right," she reassured the Ixi. "He won't hurt you."

Rosco walked over softly, sniffing at Hanso and nudging his shoulder once with its nose. Then the creature turned and left the room, silent as a snowflake on a midwinter's eve.

"What was that?" Hanso demanded as he looked up at Anya, feeling foolish and angry at the same time.

"_That_ was your breakfast," Anya said as she nodded her head towards the glop sliding down the walls. "But now it looks like I'll have to start over." She turned back to the bowl of goo she was stirring. "What were you doing sneaking around, anyways?"

Hanso flushed, irritated that he had been caught so easily. He should be better than this! "What was that monster?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Rosco," Anya answered. "He's part wolf, so you don't want to cross him. He knows you're a friend though, so as long as you don't do anymore sneaking around he won't have any cause to harm you." She looked over her shoulder and gave Hanso a pointed look. "He's _very_ excellent at catching burglars."

Blast! She knew then, or at least suspected. Hanso leapt to his formost defense, the one that always worked with Brynn - well, almost always.

"Sooo, is that breakfast?" he asked cheerily, putting on his best grin.

It worked like a charm. Anya stared at him a moment, then smiled and shook her head as she plopped a spoonful of batter into the pan next to her.

"Well I'll have to make more of it now," she answered, "but yes, it is. I hope you like pancakes."

Hanso grinned and ran to the sink to wash his hands. It was uncomfortable being nearly two feet shorter than Anya, but at least he could still reach the faucet easily.

"Love 'em," he said, eyeing the pan greedily.

Anya smiled as she flipped her long golden hair out of her face. Instead of the bright orange dress Hanso vaguely remembered her wearing earlier, she had on a simple, long tan skirt and winter blouse that both had black swirling designs on the edges. She also had no wings.

"I'm afraid I don't have anything worthy of a Neopian here," Anya apologized as she grabbed a plate from the cupboard and piled five pancakes onto it. "Life is a little simpler in my world."

"That's fine with me," Hanso said as he took the plate, then looked around sheepishly for a fork.

"Top drawer on the left side of the dishwasher," Anya replied to his questioning gaze. She pulled a few things from the refrigerator standing next to the stove and began cracking eggs into a bowl. "Butter is in the little dish in the right cupboard next to the wall, and syrrup is right behind it."

Hanso grinned. He hadn't even had to ask. "Got any chokoto jelly?" he asked teasingly as he grabbed a jar of strawberry jam from the fridge without asking permission.

"Ha, ha," Anya said as she poured some milk into the bowl. "I told you, things are a little different around here than what you're used to."

Hanso shrugged and snatched the milk carton away as soon as Anya wasn't looking. Grinning at his simple ingenuity, he poured himself a glass and replaced it before Anya realized it was gone. Whistling a little tune, he took his breakfast to the table across the room and dug in.

"So, when can I go back," Hanso questioned after a few mouthfuls. "I mean, it's not like it wasn't nice here, or really like it was, but, you know..."

Anya stopped stirring a moment, then turned to face him. "I'm afraid it's a little more complicated than that, Hanso."

Hanso stopped with the fork halfway to his mouth. "What do you mean?"

Anya sighed. "I mean Hanso..." she stopped a minute to gather her thoughts. "Dark magic has its own set of rules," she finally began. "You can do some things with no cause at all, and others with a sort of payment. I had to remove a dark magic when I set you free from the stone."

"Which means...?" Hanso prompted as Anya was silent.

Anya sighed again and shook her head, going straight to the point. "Hanso, you can't go home yet."

Hanso stared at her. "What are you talking about," he finally said in a quiet, controlled voice that bordered on panic.

"I had to fight dark magic with dark magic," Anya explained in a serious tone. "It was the only way. You remember when I offered to free you, I warned it would come with a price."

The words came rushing back to Hanso. _"I cannot do this without some penalty... it may be more than you are willing to pay."_

"You can't be serious!" he shouted as he stood up. "What do you mean, I can't go back? What about my homeland? What about - " _What about Brynn?_ his unspoken thought weighed heavily on his mind.

Anya shook her head, softly smiling. "It's only for two months, Hanso. I promise you can go back after that. I tried to find the most lenient price possible for you to pay."

"Me? I pay!" Hanso didn't care that he was shouting right now. "You were the one that did the spell in the first place!"

Anya's lips pursed together as she planted her hands on her hips, glaring at him. "We agreed," she said with controlled fury, "that you would do whatever it took for _me_ to use _my_ power to free you. Now you have several choices. You can live among my people for two months and then go back home, or you can head back and live as a statue for the rest of your life. Or, if you like, I can give you some of the other choices for your payment."

Hanso's brain worked fast. "What kind of choices?"

Anya raised an eyebrow. "I could make it so that you only turn into a statue during each full moon - that means day and night, by the way. Or you could be a statue only at night on the weekends. I _could_ turn you into a dog, like Rosco over there. If you don't like that idea I can take away any memories you have before you were three years old - which often tend to be the most important. Or I can cause you to be forgotten to the person most important to you."

_Brynn._

Anya shrugged. "Those are the choices. And they're all rather lenient, actually. The only other one that's not very dangerous is to be turned into a rogue werelupe."

Hanso glared at her and sat down. So. This was his only choice in life.

Or at least she said so...

The gears began to whirl in Hanso's brain and he grinned.

"We-ell, I guess I'd better get to know the territory I'm going to work in for the next two months," Hanso said casually as he stood up and eased towards the back door.

"What are you - NO WAIT! YOU CAN'T GO OUT THERE! HANSO!"

Anya's shouts echoed behind him as Hanso raced outside, easily vaulting the wooden fence and making a clean getaway.

"All too easy," he muttered as he darted down the hillside. Perfect! A small river ran by the glade of trees near the back of the house. Hanso could easily lose the dog's scent in there. But why wasn't Anya using her magic to stop him?

Hearing Rosco bark behind him, Hanso decided further speculation could wait for later. He ran down the riverbank and plunged into the icy flow.

Drawing a deep breath of air and taking care to remain below the water surface, Hanso allowed the river to carry him along.

So the faerie said he had to stay here. What did she know? Hanso had escaped prisons, guards, virtually everything but Brynn herself. What was a little curse to hold him back this time?

Of course, he wouldn't get anywhere if he caught pneumonia. After close to half a mile, Hanso figured he had traveled far enough downriver to avoid the dog's excellent sense of smell. He hauled himself onto the riverbed and shook vigorously before dumping the water out of his boots.

_Hanso, you've done it again!_ He grinned and congratulated himself as he hiked across the woods, following the river. Not everyone could escape a faerie and her pest.

Three hours later he was doing a little less gloating and a lot more grumbling as he trudged along, looking for any sign of a village. Strangely, the roadway he had stumbled on was completely silent.

Hanso shivered. Darkness had fallen an hour ago, and he had no idea where he was. The street signs had no familiarity to them. Golden Road? 16th Avenue? "A" street? What kind of name was that?

Hanso stumbled along, blinking as a line of street lights came into view, illuminating a small city in the distance.

_Where am I?_

Suddenly a large van raced down a street and turned the corner. Hanso winced and threw his arm over his eyes as the headlights blinded him. There was a screech of brakes as the van came to a sudden halt. Hanso blinked rapidly as he tried to peer beyond the bright glare piercing into his brain.

A car door slammed as someone stepped out. "Hey Jake, what's that?"

Instinct took over as a sixth sense warning blared. Hanso ran. He overestimated his ruined night vision however, and fell sprawling onto the gravel.

"Grab it!" a deep voice called out as running footsteps pounded towards him.

Hanso stumbled up again and ran blindly in the direction oposite his followers.

One of the men, a dark haired, six foot, cynnical looking person wearing a cloak and hood, stood back as his partner chased the strange creature down the path. Slowly he lifted a tranquilizer gun to his shoulder and pulled the trigger.

Hanso jerked back as something stung his arm. Grabbing whatever it was and throwing it away, he continued running. Then suddenly his legs could no longer support him.

_No!_ Hanso tried in vain to scramble to his feet. His brain screamed at his limbs to move, but nothing happened. The curse! She had said there would be a price! Had he been turned back into stone?

Hanso groaned as a wave of dizzyness overwhelmed him.

"What d'you think it is?" a voice danced in the nothingless above him.

Hanso tried to focus as the world swam before his eyes.

"I don't know."

Hanso's battle with unconsciousness came to a sudden end. He blacked out.

..

Jake rubbed his bearded chin thoughtfully as he stared at the creature below him. It could almost be a fox, but the tail and the ears were all wrong. Not to mention the fur color. In all his life and time travel, Jake had never seen a blue fox. And one wearing clothes?

"Something escaped the flea circus," he muttered as he studied the creature. There was another point; it had run on two legs. Jake had done plenty of hunting, and never had he seen something like this.

"What d'you think it is?" Frank asked him as he stared down at the creature.

Jake was silent a moment. "I don't know." He looked around carefully, searching for onlookers. Finally he nodded to his companion. "Put it in the van. We'll take it with us." Whatever it was, it could earn them a pretty penny. Now if he could just find the right place to host a show...

"Well my little blue friend," he muttered as he stroked the stubble on his chin. "I think I finally hit the jackpot..."

**...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own neopets.**

** Reviews = next chapter.**


	2. In the Hands of Humans

**I didn't have time for a regular chapter, so this is a short filler until later.**

**Warning: neopet mistreatment. sensitive readers be warned. (violence involved but nothing worse)**

**...**

Hanso woke to a piercing pain between his eyes. Great. First thing in the morning and he already had a headache! Groaning and holding the bridge of his nose, Hanso squinted into the bright light... and froze.

He was in a cage.

Hanso he stared at the bars. Prison. The cage was large enough for him to lie down or sit up comfortably, but far too small for him to stand or completely stretch out. Four walls of iron bars surrounded him and connected to the solid plating at the top. A single padlock held the door in place.

Hanso immediately rolled his eyes at the lack of security. He was a thief. Mere locks had no hold over him.

Of course, Hanso had never seen a lock quite like this before, but he quickly figured out the workings. After emptying out his entire stash of files, he finally found one that fit into the mechanism. A small twist and the lock opened, though it snapped the file at the same time. Hanso looked at it ruefully before tossing it away and returning his files to their proper places in his coat pocket.

Carefully easing the door open, Hanso smiled and stepped out. This was a piece of cake! He couldn't wait to -

The door leading to the room suddenly opened as a short faerie stepped in. Hanso wrinkled his nose, backing up slightly. The faerie had no wings, and he wore an untucked green and white checkered shirt and blue pants. His red cap was twisted backwards on his blond hair that stuck out in all directions, and he was chewing on a drinking straw.

The faerie's eyes widened as he saw Hanso. "Hey, how did you get out of your cage?" he said in a squeaky voice.

Hanso dropped to a defensive position, readying himself to charge past the faerie and out the door. So, this was the one that had put him in that _thing_. Well Hanso had other plans.

Unfortunately so did the faerie. "Hey, Jake! The blue goat got out of his cage! What do I do?"

"He WHAT?" There was the sound of running feet, and Hanso decided he had waited long enough.

Throwing himself at the short faerie, he wrapped his paws around the back of the boy's knees, tripping him.

"Euaaah! Boss, he's attacking me!"

Hanso lauched himself over the faerie's back and raced towards the door, only to stop short as a tall figure wearing a black cloak stood in his way. Hanso backed up slightly, growling deep in his throat.

"Told you he was a fox," the figure said calmly as he drew a small handgun out of his pocket.

"I'm not a fox!" Hanso shouted before he could stop himself.

The two were suddenly silent.

"Did - did you just say something?" the kid asked in disbelief.

Something set off an alarm bell in Hanso's brain, but he wasn't sure. He remained silent, glaring at the kid.

"Boss, that - that goat just talked to me," the kid stammered.

To be called a fox was an insult. To be named a goat was too much!

"I'm not a goat, you idiot!" Hanso yelled. "I'm an ixi!"

The hooded figure dropped his gun slightly. "It does speak," he said in astonishment. "What's your name, Ixi? Or is that what you call yourself?"

Hanso glared at him. "I'm not telling you."

The figure didn't say anything. He simply raised his gun and fired. Hanso leapt back with a cry as a bullet creased along his arm, leaving a bloody furrow that soon began to stain his fur.

"What did you do that for?" he shouted in surprise as he clutched the wound.

The figure recocked his gun as calmly as if he were buttering a piece of bread. "When I ask a question, I expect it answered," he said in a calm yet deadly tone.

"Well I've got a question for you, buster," Hanso shot back, fear and pain causing him to strike out in more anger than he would normally have done. "What's the idea of - " he yelped and fell to the floor as the gun sounded off again, this time hitting the edge of his leg.

The short faerie in the corner looked up worriedly at the hooded figure. "H-hey, you sure you're not gonna kill him, Jake?"

"I think it's time you started learning to follow orders," Jake said to Hanso, ignoring this partner. He walked over and bent down so he was at Hanso's eye level. Hanso shuddered as the glittering obsidian depths met his own.

"Here's the gyst, fox," Jake said coldly as he held the gun at Hanso's forehead. "You're no good to me dead. I can't use you except for science research. But I don't tolerate disrespect, you got that?" He nodded down towards Hanso's wounds. "I can give you a lot worse than that. This is child's play, what I've just done to you."

Hanso's breath began to come in shorter bursts as he fought back a whimper of pain. His arm and leg felt like they were on fire, and he was getting dizzy from bloodloss.

"Hey, kid," the figure called out to the boy sitting next to the door. "Get over here and make yourself useful. There's some bandages in the top drawer of that file cabinet. It wouldn't do any good to have our little fox here bleed to death."

"I'm not a fox," Hanso repeated in a softer voice, focusing all his anger into his gaze.

"I guessed as much," Jake replied. "But since I don't have a name for you, I guess I'll just have to make one up on my own. But I'll worry about that later. Right now I think you need to realize exactly what you're into." He waved a hand at the room. "This isn't just any old kitchen. This used to be a lab. That means pressure locks, combinations, and bolts that can only be opened from the outside of the door. Even if you ever make it out of that cage again - which you won't - there's no way you'll be able to make it outside. If you try to escape again, you will regret it." He stopped a minute to let that sink in. "From now on, I give the orders. You're a pretty rare species. In fact, as far as I know you're the only one of your kind. You know what that means?"

Hanso shook his head.

Jake smiled. "Money. Big bucks. People will pay anything just to see you. They'll give up even more when they find out you can hold an intelligent conversation." He chuckled at the spark of rebellion in Hanso's eyes. "Don't go thinking about clamming up as soon as the show starts, fox," he said calmly. "I'll still get my money's worth, and if you dare disobey me I can make things pretty painful for you."

"I'll never do it for you!" Hanso started to say. He shouted in pain as his injured arm was suddenly twisted behind his back.

Jake stood to his full heighth of six feet two, dragging the four foot eleven ixi up with him. Hanso whimpered and yelped as his feet left the ground, leaving him to dangle by his injured arm.

"Hey, careful, Jake, you're going to kill him!" the boy in the cap shouted.

"Not that easily, Fred," Jake chuckled. He directed his next question to Hanso. "Are you ready to cooperate?"

His brain screaming with pain from his twisted shoulder, Hanso managed a nod. Immediately he was set down again, and he curled into a ball, clutching his arm tightly.

"That's what happens when you go against me, fox," Jake said dangerously. "Do you understand?"

Hanso gave another tiny nod, his mind confused. How had this happened? Why were they hurting him like this? He hadn't done anything wrong - at least he thought he hadn't. He yelped as Jake suddenly booted him in the ribs.

"From now on you adress me as 'Sir,' you got that?" Jake ordered.

Hanso looked up, his eyes filled with fury.

"Well? What did I just tell you?"

"Yes... sir," he fumbled, curling up tightly and hating himself for saying the words.

Jake smiled thinly. He was in charge here. This sniveling little brat might have spunk, but he was only an animal. And animals could be broken.

Little did he know, Hanso was no ordinary ixi. He was lost and in pain, but the fire that glowed in his heart was unquenched. Somehow he would get out of this. He knew it.

...

**Short chapter, sorry about that. Also, I did warn that things would get pretty nasty so keep any complaints about neopet treatment out of the reviews, please. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon, but this story is a little harder to work with.**


	3. Don't Fight It

**Author's Note and Questions Answered:**

** Lyeba: The bullet only scraped Hanso's arm and leg, but bullet furrows can be very painful and, depending on how deep they are, can bleed quite badly (hence explaining Hanso's dizzyness and blood loss). **

** Whateva876: Were you the one who sent in all the demands for chapter updates? Thank you if you did. I wasn't sure if I was going to continue this, but I figured that anyone desperate enough to post on another story deserved an update. :)**

** Thank you to all my reviewers for their support!**

**...**

Hanso curled into a ball, wrapping his arms around his stomach. Two days had passed since he had woken up in the cage for the first time. After Hanso's first escape attempt, Jake had entered the room only one time in order to add a new, more complex lock to the cage.

Since then no one had entered the lab.

Hanso bit his lip and tried desperately to ignore the hunger pangs piercing his stomach. His mouth and throat were as dry as sandpaper, as they hadn't even left him any water to drink.

Jake had been speaking to Fred about "breaking methods," but at the time Hanso had refused to consider what he might mean. Now he understood. They wanted him to be desperate - to cave in under the pressure until he was nothing more than a mindless tool. At first Hanso had vowed never to submit to them, even if it cost him his life.

But thirst has a strange way of shattering anyone's strongest resolutions.

Hanso panted softly, his lips chapped and dry. He felt he would give anything for a sip of water right now, even if it meant sacrificing his pride. Hanso had never resorted to begging in his life, but now he felt he'd be willing to get on his hands and knees for a petpetpet, just if it would get him a precious drop of liquid.

Hanso's keen ears caught a slight scuffling sound, and it took his foggy brain a minute to realize that someone was opening the locks outside. There was a bunch of clattering and a few muttered half-curses like, "stupid doorjam," and, "why in the lemonade pudding did he have to put _that_ up there?"

"Hey Jake, how do you get the last one?" Fred's voice called at the door.

"Just use the key, stupid," Jake's gravely voice replied in annoyance.

"Oh, _that_ would help."

The door finally swung open with a hiss of air. Fred quickly stepped in, a plastic chopstick clamped sideways between his jaws.

"Boss says I could bring you a sandwich," the kid said as he put the chopstick in his pocket and brought over a plate and glass.

Every nerve in Hanso's body screamed with joy at the sight of the tall glass of icy lemonade. He pulled himself up to the bars and reached out hopefully.

The kid hesitated. "Uhhhh, Boss? What was it I was supposed to say?" he called.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" The thud of boots came up the corridor, and Hanso pulled his arm back back as Jake stalked in, his hood covering his face and his cape swirling behind him.

"Give me that," Jake hissed as he grabbed the food. "You want this?" he asked Hanso, holding it just out of arm reach.

Hanso's brain screamed for him to grab it, but he held himself back. He still had his dignity. "Yes, sir," he rasped past his dry throat.

Jake had the grace to appear surprised. "Well, you do learn fast, don't you." He waved the sandwhich tantilizingly, still keeping it out of arm's length. "Are you willing to cooperate?"

Hanso nodded slowly and tried to speak, but his voice was gone.

Jake gave him a level stare, then handed the lemonade and sandwich through the bars.

Hanso grabbed them and gulped the cold liquid down, not caring that it was giving him a brain freeze. He protested when it was pulled away, lashing out to grab it back.

"Easy little fella," Jake said calmly. "You'll make yourself sick if you drink too fast. You might even kill yourself, seeing as you've been so badly dehydrated."

Hanso forced himself to remain calm as he took a bite of his sandwich, but his eyes never left the glass. After a few minutes Jake handed it back, and this time Hanso drank it slowly, relishing each swallow.

Jake waited until he was finished eating, then spoke. "This was a little taste of what things will be like if you force me to treat you like an animal," he said in his cold, deep voice. "I know you aren't just an animal though. You're too intelligent."

"Not to mention a fox couldn't eat a bolonga sandwich and a glass of lemonade," Fred pointed out.

"Shut up, kid," Jake glared at the boy. He turned back to Hanso. "Here's what I'm going to expect out of you: there's a circus that stays here all year round. I'm going to teach you some tricks, and I expect you to learn them. When you know enough to impress a crowd, you're going to perform for them, got it?"

Hanso inwardly glared. This _creature_ was expecting him to act like a show attraction, an unintelligent animal who did parlor tricks for a tidbit!

But what choice did he have? If the last two days had been torture, what worse inventions could Jake come up with?

"I understand, sir," Hanso said quietly. He hated this man for making him say it.

Jake nodded. "Good. I don't want any parlor tricks though. No robotic movements or repetetive acting. You're intelligent. Show me that you can be creative. I'll teach you the moves, and then you'll be expected to sequence them in a way that will amaze the crowd every time. Also, I don't want you to talk. _At all. _Do not ask why, and do not disobey me. Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"If you behave, and you gain my trust, I'll let you out of the cage so long as you stay in this room. If you disobey me, you can expect worse than the last two punishments, you understand?" Jake seemed to consider Hanso's shudder to be answer enough. He stood up and considered the Ixi below him for a moment.

"I think I'll call you 'Jasco'," he said.

Hanso bit back a retort at the name choice. _My name is Hanso_. He didn't say it out loud, but the spark of rebellion lit in his eyes.

Jake smirked. "Good, you've still got that ornery streak inside. I'm not ready to have a _puppet_ yet." Striding to the door, he motioned for Fred to follow. "You'll get your supper in a couple hours," he told Hanso. "In a couple days I'll start teaching you tricks. Come on, Fred."

The kid followed behind, hands deep in his pockets and chopstick clamped between his teeth again. Hanso cringed as the door locked behind them. His stomach full but his heart empty, he curled up on the floor of the cage and closed his eyes, trying to block out the nightmare.

...

**Help With Quicker Updates?:**

**Okay, so I know that these updates are slow getting out. I've been balancing my time between my stories and saving up for a pb on neopets, so this story sometimes makes it to the bottom of my to-do list. I'll try and update as often as I can. Review and tell me what you think. :)**


	4. Beginner's Training

**I think someone hacked into my account and made it impossible for me to update several of my stories. Either that or fanfiction broke the links for some reason. Either way, I may not get back until I can figure out what happened. Sorry for any further delays because of that.**

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"Now lean back slowly. Don't tense up or you'll fall over."

Hanso allowed Jake to tip him over his hand as the hooded man guided him into a back bend. According to Jake, they were starting on the "basics," which involved a great deal of stretching and twisting in contorted positions.

Fred lounged back against the wall, ankles crossed and arms folded. Once again the teenager had a drinking straw clamped horizontally between his teeth, and he was twirling a key chain around his finger.

Jake seethed in irritation and shot Fred a dark look. "Can you stop that?" he asked as the keychain flew off Fred's finger and hit the wall with a ping.

Fred sighed and picked up the keychain, returning it to his pocket. "I don't see why we can't just start putting him on the show," he objected as he took the straw from his mouth. "We can get a lot of dough from him right now."

"Because obviously you know nothing of business," Jake said brisquely as he studied Hanso's clumsy summersault. "Seeing as I have neither the time nor the desire to explain things to you, I suggest you just shut your mouth and let me take care of things."

Fred sulked at the reply and remained silent.

"No, no, not like that!" Jake berated as Hanso accidently rolled into the wall. "It's called grace, idiot! Something you obviously _don't _lack, so don't go about like you know nothing of the skill!"

Hanso sighed and rolled in another sumersault, this time merely grazing a line of cabinets instead banging into them. Jake shook his head. "We've got a lot to work on."

"Can't we call it a break now, Jake?" Fred whined. "I'm gettin' hungry."

Jake rubbed the bridge of his nose an squeezed his eyes shut. Hanso could hear him quietly counting from one to ten.

"Kid, I hear one more word out of you and I'm putting you in a clown suit and abandoning you at the nearest asylum," Jake growled. "If you're that desperate, make yourself a sandwich and stop bothering me."

"It's past noon, Jake," Fred pointed out to Hanso. "Don't you think he's hungry."

Jake sighed in exhasperation and clapped a hand over his eyes. "Fine. Fix yourself some lunch. We'll continue this in one hour."

"Yipee!" Fred whooped as he ran out of the room.

Jake rolled his eyes. "Might as well rest while you can," he told Hanso. "I expect you to be able to turn a full acrobatic summersault by the time this day is over."

Hanso nodded and plopped down against the cabinets lining the wall. His thoughts turned to Neopia, and he found himself calculating what he would likely have been doing at this time. Most likely he would have been pickpocketing an unsuspecting merchant right now, or running from Brynn.

_Brynn._

Hanso sighed and slouched back against the cabinets. How he missed Brynn! Suddenly even the threat of being stuck in a Neopian dungeon seemed worthwhile if he could only see her again.

"Hey, Jasco!"

Hanso was torn from his thoughts as a paper plate holding a sandwich was thrust under his nose. Sitting up, Hanso took the plate and lifted the sandwich top, sniffing suspiciously at the contents. Onions, pickles, mustard and mayonaise, bologny, pepperoni, roast beef, two types of cheeses, and potato chips were smashed down into the bread.

"Uh... thanks," Hanso said queasily.

Fred mumbled something and smiled around a huge bite of his own sandwich. "Great innit? It's ma favrite."

Hanso closed his eyes at the sight of Fred's mouth and picked the raw onionos off his sandwich before cautiously taking a bite. It was surprisingly tasty, and Hanso found he actually liked the salty crunch of the added potato chips.

"So what's it like to be a fox?" Fred asked as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Ixi!" Hanso corrected.

Fred shrugged. "Well?"

"What's it like to be human?" Hanso asked instead.

Fred appeared to be stumped. "Uh... well... um... I don't know. We walk on two legs and we... uh..."

"Exactly," Hanso responded and took a bite of his sandwich. When he finished chewing, he explained, "We are what we are. We can't explain it. I can't explain being an Ixi any better than you can tell me all about being a human."

Fred blinked and looked back to his sandwich. "Oh."

"FRED! GET THIS THING OUT OF MY ROOM!"

Fred's eyes widened. "Oops, guess I let the hamsters out again."

"Hamsters?" Hanso asked in curiosity.

"Oh, yeah, tiny fat mice with no tails. Kinda cute actually - "

"FRED!"

"Comin!" Fred called back as he scarfed down the last bite of his sandwich and licked his fingers. "Hey, uh, don't try and get out while I'm gone, will ya?" he asked as he swung the door open. "Jake'll get kinda mad if you get away."

Hanso didn't need a second confirmation of that point. With a sigh he sat back and listened to the bolts slide in place. Feeling full but tired, Hanso curled up in a tight ball and pretended he was home.

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**Sorry for the long wait, everyone. I have so many things I'm working on that I need a lot of reminders to SIT DOWN AND WRITE! (Imagining my reviewers yelling at me) Hope you liked the chapter!**

**Lucy: I have no idea how long this story will be. I actually do have a full plotline for it, but it's a little vague so it's harder to make lengthier chapters. This story will probably be a bit long, maybe around 24,000 + words by the time it gets done.**


	5. Rex

**Lyeba: I'm**_** so **_**sorry about the tp glitch. I know exactly how you feel about it. My account got frozen 3 times, making me lose about 1.3 million total. It took me years (and the introduction of key quest) to start playing again. The only advice I can give you if you really love the game is to keep going and start over as best you can. (Key quest really helps too, especially for people like me who are not really good at the neopet games.)**

**..**

**One little request for all future reviewers; please keep profanity and crude language out of your reviews, and please, no more comparisons of Jake and satan. That point is a little too real for me. I'm not mad at anyone since I didn't give warnings before, but I really don't want any of that in my reviews if possible. :) Thanks for your understanding!**

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"Y'know, it's kinda funny, a furry animal stroking a furry animal," Fred commented as he and Hanso played with his pet hamsters.

Hanso shrugged. "We have all kinds of pets back home."

"What kinds?" Fred wanted to know.

"Quetzals, polarchucks, albrisses, mookiths, meepits, puppyblews, greebles, cobralls, spyders, tennas, hopsos, warfs, mallards - "

"Okay, okay, I get it! You have a lot of pets!" Fred interrupted frantically.

Hanso smiled wickedly. "Well that's not to mention the petpetpets..."

"Uh-uh! No more, please! My brain can't handle it!"

"Your brain can't handle anything," Jake's voice rang out from the other room.

Fred's eyes narrowed in annoyance and he stuffed an entire cookie in his mouth. "So what's a petpetpet?" he asked around the mouthful of desert.

"Pets for our pets," Hanso replied as he plucked a feisty hamster off his jacket.

Fred's eyes widened. "You give pets to your _pets_? And I thought just you guys having them was bad enough!"

"It's not like we're that different from you humans," Hanso shrugged. "We might be from two different dimensions, but we're basically the same."

Fred knawed on the flattened end of what had once been a pencil eraser. "Huh."

The akward silence dragged on, and finally the scrabbling of hamster claws against the metal floor got on Hanso's nerves. "So are these your only pets?" he asked, looking for any topic of conversation to drown out the noise.

Fred shook his head. "Nah. I've got a cockatoo upstairs, but he can't come down since he learned all of Jake's bad words. There's a ferret in my room, which Jake likes 'cause he eats the hamsters."

Hanso grimaced at the image.

"And there's two fish - which also got eaten by the ferret. Huh. Never knew they could swim. Ummmm, there's a terranium full of mice in my room, a gecko in the bathroom, a hedgehog that Jake somehow manages to step on when he's got his boots off, an then Jake's got a big pitbull that keeps tresspassers away. You don't want to mess with Jake's dog. He's a mean one."

Hanso grinned cheekily. "And you said _we_ had a lot of pets."

Fred inclined his head in agreement. "I guess you've got a point. Jake doesn't like animals much, but he lets me keep 'em. I like having them around. Wanted a cat too, but Jake's allergic."

"Oh, that's too bad," Hanso said. "For you I mean, not Jake." He felt little sympathy for the man's sore toes. "What about the other animals? Isn't he allergic to them as well?"

Fred grimaced. "Nah. Personally I think he just hates cats. Last time I brought a newborn kitten inside he threw it out into the street and locked the door." Fred's chewed on his lip as he remembered. "Never found out what happened to that little guy."

Hanso shuddered at the thought. One he never could have imagined someone doing such a thing to a helpless baby kitten. Over the time he had been here, however, he had learned that there was no limit to Jake's brutality.

Hanso's brow furrowed. Speaking of time, exactly how long _had_ he been here? He posed the question to Fred.

Fred stuck the pencil sideways in his mouth and bit down hard. "Hah," he mused around the wood piece. "I on't 'ow." Removing the pencil he guessed, "'Bout a month? Maybe two?"

Hanso drew in a sharp breath. "That long?"

"Month and a half," Jake answered as he entered the room. "Fred, put those things away."

Fred's eyes widened and he quickly proceeded to scoop up five wriggling hamsters. "I'll be right back," he mumbled around the chopstick before fleeing the room.

Hanso heard something snuffling outside, and there was a squeak and a crunch as a large black nose appeared in the doorway.

"Fred, you missed one!" Jake sighed. Bending down, he patted the brown mottled snout. "Good boy."

Hanso gulped and scrambled backwards.

Jake looked up as though noticing the Ixi for the first time. "Ah, Jasco. I don't believe I introduced you to Rex."

Hanso backed away further as an enormous mud colored dog padded into the room. The pit bull growled as it caught Hanso's scent and it pulled back its lips, revealing sharp white teeth.

"Down, boy," Jake ordered in a low tone. "This one needs to stay alive for now." Looking to Hanso, he warned, "Don't get any hopes up that I won't send Rex after you if you try and escape. You'd be worth as much as a mutilated science experiment as a live show piece."

Hanso's face showed his horror as he scrambled onto a chair to escape the monster. This was _nothing_ like the fierce but gentle guard dog that Anya had shown him. This was a nightmare!

Jake smiled maliciously at Hanso's fear. "There. Now maybe you'll get those ideas of escape out of your head so I don't have to kill you."

"It's not like I could escape anyways with all those locks on the door!" Hanso shot back. "What more do you want to threaten me with, you snake?"

He knew he had made a bad move, but the weeks of holding back his temper finally broke free. Jake's eyebrows drew together and his eyes flashed in fury.

"What did I tell you about talking back?" Jake said in a slow, deadly tone.

Hanso's eyes widened but he stood his ground. "I'm not afraid of you," he responded quietly.

Jake raised an eyebrow. "Fancy thing to say when you're standing on a chair." He turned to Rex. "Get 'im, boy."

Hanso yelped and leapt onto a pile of cabinets as the mountain of teeth and muscle raced forward. The force of the pitbull's charge shook the cabinets like a miniature earthquake, nearly making Hanso lose his grip. Teeth snapped at his boot as he pulled himself up again. Huddling against the wall, Hanso thought he was safe for a moment. Seconds later another blow hit the cabinet and Rex's head shot over the top. A row of fangs grasped the scruff of Hanso's neck and he was pulled back over the edge. Hanso screamed in terror as the pitbull shook its head viciously, shaking him into a daze. Just as he thought it was over, a shrill whistle split the air.

"Here, boy! Here, boy!" Fred's voice called out from the other end. Hanso had never heard a nicer sound in his life.

"C'mon, come get the nice juicy hot dog," Fred continued as he wiggled the stick of meat in the air and tossed it down the hall. Rex yelped in joy and bounded away after the treat.

Jake groaned and covered his face with his hand. "Fred," he muttered in irritation.

"You can't get much out of him if he's dead," Fred explained. "Sure, the science department would pay a tidy sum for him, but he won't get you any lasting profit."

"Who said I was going to _kill_ him?" Jake lectured. "That fox has got to learn a lesson, and you're getting in the way. Again."

"Aw, come on, Jake!" Fred whined. "You don't train a dog by beating it up, why's Jasco any different?"

Jake strode forward until he was right in Fred's face. "Dogs learn one thing in my line of work. Fear me, or die. Why do you think Rex is the only left? Get that in your head, kid, before you try telling me how to do my job." Without another word he left the room.

Fred let out a whoosh of breath as the tension drained. "Boy, that guy gives me the creeps." He shrugged. "Still, pay is pay, right, Jasco? Jasco?"

Fred looked over and saw the Ixi huddled in a corner, the collar of his jacket torn and stained. "Oye, he _did_ tear you apart, didn't he?"

Hanso shivered and instinctively drew back as Fred approached. The shock of the attack had left him with little more than the terror of the moment and the pain from the dog's bite.

Fred muttered something about 'stupid pitbulls' as he clumsily wrapped a bandage around the blood matted fur on the back of Hanso's neck. "It's not too bad," he tried to be cheerful. "It's just a graze, I think."

He sighed when Hanso didn't reply. "Look, Jasco, why don't you just do as he says. I know it's hard, but trying to fight against him is just gonna make things worse. I mean, look at me. I'm an orphan, but Jake treats me just fine if I stay out of the way. Maybe you should just... I dunno..."

"Give in?" Hanso asked softly. He shook his head. "I can't, Fred. I never will. I'm an Ixi, and I'm the best thief in Neopia. I won't let him break me like he wants to."

"Then don't," Fred said manner-of-factly as he studied a medical instrument before clamping it between his teeth. "Yu juth keep doin' thith an thtay ooua 'ake's 'ay, o'ay?"

Hanso rolled his eyes. "You know, it's kinda hard to understand you when you've got that thing in your mouth."

Fred removed the metal tool momentarily and whispered. "To be honest, I think you should keep fighting. Just don't let Jake see that you are. Maybe sometime... well, maybe someday I can get you out of here."

Hanso looked up in surprise, but before he could say anything Fred collected his things and hurriedly left the room. The door slammed shut behind him and Hanso heard the bolts slide back into place.

Laying his head back on the cold floor, Hanso curled up into a tight ball and felt hot tears prick his eyes. He was so _sick_ of all this! If he gave in and did as Jake ordered, he would lose the only bit of pride he had left. But if he refused...

Hanso shuddered as the image of Rex filled his mind. He was terrified at the thought of facing the dog again. Never before had Hanso been forced to deal with such creatures. Xandra's dark monsters had been deadly in their own accord, but Hanso had never been trapped and left to their mercy. Once he could have laughed his way out of danger. Now...

Finally the tears flowed. Hugging his knees to his chest, Hanso finally allowed himself to cry. The whole situation seemed so hopeless. He couldn't escape Jake, and any action against the man only caused worse things to happen. For the first time in his life, Hanso was truly afraid.

Was there no path ahead of him, but to be a prize show piece for the one person he truly hated?

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**I decided that for my birthday I'd try and update every single on of my main stories, so voila! Chapter 5! I tried to make this one longer, but it isn't as easy for this story. Thank you to everyone who was so patient for the next update! Next chapter should start on Hanso's show business. (I'm moving a little fast through the timeline so I can get to everything.)**


	6. Circus Master

"Hey, Jake, do you really think this is a good idea?" Fred mumbled past a chopstick as he peeked around the tent curtain.

Jake sighed and rolled his eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you to shut your mouth and let me deal with the enterprise system?"

Fred pushed his hat back and scratched his head. "Well, it's just that there's a lotta people out there... if something happens..."

"It _won't_ happen," Jake growled. "Trust me, I've got this all planned out."

"Ah, mya good friends!" a heavily accented voice called out as a man with a curling black mustache and red jacket approached them. "Jou are-a bringing me ze new centerpiece, no?"

"Got it right here," Fred answered as he removed the chopstick from his mouth and nudged a large chest with his foot.

"Ah, yes, yes," the ringmaster said cheerily. "Tell me, it isa vorth my price range, no? I vould hate to be disappointed by, saya, un monkey perhaps?"

"Don't worry, it'll be worth your money," Jake responded.

The ringmaster nodded enthusiastically and began to fiddle with the lock on the chest. Jake's foot slammed down on the top, just shy of the ringmaster's hand.

"Wait till we're alone," he ordered darkly.

The ringmaster raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. "Very vell, it isa as jou vish," he responded. "Come, ve-a go to my office."

Jake nodded and hefted the chest up with ease. Fred glanced around nervously and clamped his chopstick between his teeth before following the two men down the lines of tents.

"Jou-a see my circus isa magnific, no?" the ringmaster boasted as they passed countless animals, astounding gymnastics, lovely ballerinas, and twirling trapese artists.

"Impressive," Jake grudgingly admitted.

The ringmaster smirked. "I-a hire only ze best! No von isa too great for ze Magnifico Renaldo!"

Jake snorted slightly, but made no reply.

Fred fidgeted a moment, then asked hesitantly, "Uh... Jake? Do you mind if I kinda explore a bit... I mean, there's a lot to see here and..."

"Go get yourself lost, kid," Jake responded as he pulled out several bills and handed them to Fred.

Fred's eyes widened as he pushed his hat back. "You mean it?"

"Don't tempt me, I might change my mind," Jake growled.

"Yes, sir!" Fred grinned as he pocketed the money and raced off. He didn't like leaving Hanso with the two men, but it wasn't like he wanted to get mixed up with them, either! Besides, the scents and thrill of the circus were too tempting to resist. He'd save some cracker jacks for Hanso.

"Alla right, vhat isa this creature jou vished to show me?" Renaldo questioned casually as soon as they entered the trailer.

Jake set the chest on the trailer floor and removed the lock. "Something you've never seen before," he hinted as he rose to his feet.

"Zat I finda hard to believe," the ringmaster responded cooly as he knelt down and lifted the chest lid.

Hanso blinked as light flooded his world. For six hours he had been cooped up in the cramped chest, and he desperately hoped he would finally be let out.

Renaldo raised an eyebrow skepticaly as he examined the Ixi. "Vat is it?"

"A blue fox," Jake replied, his voice betraying his slight astonishment. He had expected to be hearing a bidding war by now, not a doubting offer. "He can do tricks."

"Oh, I see," Renaldo said in disappointment. "Vell, it isa vely unusual, yes. Perhaps a small price I shall pay. Saya... five hundred dollars?"

Jake's face grew stony at the offer. Hanso closed his eyes and laid his head back on the floor. So this was it. He was being auctioned off to the highest bidder, with no more concern than if he were one of Fred's overweight hamsters.

Once again Hanso fingered the thick leather collar Jake had put around his neck before they had left. A chain. He was little more than a _pet_ now. How could he call himself a neopian after the disgrace he had been put through for the past eight months?

Hanso sighed and tried to block out the sound of Jake and the ringmaster's arguing. At one time he would never have believed that anyone could ever bend his will. He was a master thief who could escape from any situation. Guards and dungeons were a lark. Fear was unheard of. What had changed? How could one creature instill so much terror in his heart? Hanso had never had to deal with the cruelty of mankind. Now he knew why the faeries had never spoken of the outside world. This land had shaken him to his core. Hanso was in a fight for survival, and in doing what it took to live, he had sacrificed his pride. What kind of neopian was he?

"Zix hundred, and zat isa my final offer!" Renaldo shouted, his face beet red from his exertion.

Jake gave him a cold, drawn out glare. "Jasco, get up," he ordered in a deathly calm tone.

Hanso rose slowly to his feet, glancing between the two men. Self-consiously he brushed off the leathery black material of the costume that Jake had supplied. Due to Fred being the one to order the Ixi's clothing, Hanso's outfits had always resembled his original neopian style. It gave him some small comfort to know that he still had a part of his homeland with him.

Renaldo raised an eyebrow again. "Vell, ita does appear to have some small intelligence," he admitted. "But vat can it do?"

"Jasco, tell him what you are," Jake baited, his eyes calculative as he watched for the Ixi's reaction. He hadn't intended for Hanso to speak at all, but now was the time to play his trump card. "What kind of blue fox did you say you were again?"

Hanso's face flushed and he blundered on despite the obvious trap. "I'm not a fox," he hissed. "I'm an Ixi! Get it in your head."

"GADZOOKS!" Renaldo threw his hands in the air, unintentionally tossing his hat out the window. "Itsa alive!"

"I told you it was intelligent," Jake responded darkly. He sighed and shrugged. "No matter, I'll try the next town."

"Vait, vait, vait!" Renaldo panicked. "I-a give you tree- no, four thousand, yes? Five thousand then, mya best offer!"

"He's not for sale," Jake answered, silencing the ringleader.

"Vhat?"

"I don't sell my pets," Jake repeated. "I _invest_ in them."

Understanding dawned in Renaldo's eyes. "Ah, so it isa to be a partner arrangement, jah?

"Naturally in my favor," Jake allowed.

Renaldo frowned, his thin face taking on a nearly puppy dog expression. "Jah, isa cold, hard fact of life. Renaldo always getsa ze bad end of ze bargain."

"Be grateful you're getting anything," Jake responded. "I could be trying the next town. The deal is simple; I get sixty five percet of all profits you earn whenever he's on the show."

"Gadzooks! Isa too much!" Renaldo yowled. "Fifty/fifty, not a penny less!"

"Sixty/forty," Jake growled. "That's my final offer."

"Eh, fine, fine," Renaldo grumbled. "Isa un deal."

Jake instantly stuck his hand out, which Renaldo gingerly took. The ringmaster gave a weak shake and quickly removed his hand, wiping it off on his pristine crimson uniform.

"Excellent," Jake smiled. "It's settled, then. For the time that the fox remains here, I'll come every week to collect my payment. The fox will need to stay here, by the way. I'll take care of the neccessary expenses."

"Vell, perhaps jou aren'ta too heartless after all," Renaldo mumbled as he leaned against the wall.

"I'll be close by if he causes any trouble," Jake glared at Hanso. As an afterthought he added, "Oh, and the boy gets free tickets. You'd probably have to pay him just to stay _away_ from this place, and I don't intend to waste money on extra tickets. I'll lower my fee to fifty-five/forty-five as compensation."

"He worksa for his stay," Renaldo insisted. "Ze elephants need zeir cage cleaned. He canna start there."

"He'll be there," Jake promised as he backed out of the trailer.

Renaldo stuck his tongue out at the closed door before turning back to Hanso. He sighed. "Jou know, he alvays gets avay vith mya money in ze end. Alighta, foxy. Letsa see vhat jou can do."

Sensing his chance to finally release the brooding anger he had been harboring for months, Hanso calmly stuck his foot out and watched in amusement as Renaldo slammed his nose into a tall brass lamp.

"Oye, it isa bad sign!" Renaldo groaned as he held a handkerchief to the bloody cartilage. "Zis not good. Allight, foxy, ve try this again, ja? Show me vhat kinda tricks jou can do."

Hanso yawned and curled up in the trunk as though to take a nap.

"Oye, how does ze man control sucha beast?" Renaldo grumbled as he unlocked a cupboard. Hanso stiffened slightly in anticipation of some form of punishment, but forced himself to remain still. He had a feeling this ringmaster was a bit of a pushover.

Sure enough, Renaldo pulled out a small tin of sardines and held one in front of Hanso's nose. "Here jou go, foxy. Do a tricka for Renaldo!"

"You expect me to eat that?"

"Gadzooks!" The container of sardines went flying. "It isa unbelievable!"

"Believe it," Hanso grumbled. "Now what about the real food?"

"Ze sardines are-a not enough?" Renaldo's face took on its confused, puppy-dog appearance again. "Ah, of course. Jou are intelligent, ja? Intelligence requires a gooda taste for food!"

Hanso sat up expectantly, his mouth watering at the thought. He was right! Renaldo had no idea how to properly control a neopet. He'd be twisted around Hanso's little finger before the day was over.

"Hmm, ve don'ta have much in here... Ah!" Shoving a small stack of crumbled paper off his desk, Renaldo proccured a carton of half stale curly fries.

"You call that food?" Hanso's face fell. Renaldo's eyes narrowed in exhasperation, and Hanso hurriedly explained, "It'll do for now, but remember; I'm intelligent. The better you treat me, the better performance you'll get. Got it?"

"Fascinating," Renaldo commented as he handed the snack to Hanso.

The Ixi ravenously devoured the fries, not concerning himself over the age or sanitary values of the food. Jake had made sure they left at dawn, causing Fred to forget to pack Hanso's breakfast. Sixteen hours without food made even a greasy pile of fries tantalizing. Hanso snapped up every morsel and licked his fingers clean when he was done, finishing the job by wiping his hands off on his suit. Hopefully Renaldo would send the cleaning bill to Jake.

"All right, that's enough to earn you a small demonstration," Hanso smiled as he hopped out of the box. "But remember, if you want a good performance in front of the crowd, you have to earn it."

"Jah, jah, I understand," Renaldo said absently. "Now vhat about zese tricks jou can do?"

"Well, to start..." Flipping onto his hands, Hanso stepped forward about eight paces. He let himself fall into a summersault and leapt to his feet with a fancy twirl, ending by giving a bow of triumph to the ringmaster.

An empty tin of sardines clattered to the floor.

"Jou canna do all zat?" Renaldo breathed. He let out a shout of amazement. "Zis vill be a show to last ze next hundred years! Canna jou do ze trapeze or ze tightvire? Perhaps jou coulda ride ze ponies, ja?"

"Jake didn't teach me any circus tricks," Hanso admitted.

"But jou canna learn!" Renaldo babbled in excitement. "Imagine, Renaldo's blue fox! Ita vill be a grand hit! Ze crowds vill go vild! And I, ze Magnificent Renaldo, vill be ze one circus master to own it!"

"You don't own me," Hanso whispered as he tugged at the collar around his neck. "Nobody owns me."

He would do what Renaldo wanted from him, but only as he saw fit. Renaldo was a man that could be manipulated, and Hanso knew he could bend the ringmaster's will towards his own benefit. Jake wasn't out of the picture, but he didn't appear to be as great a threat anymore. Now was Hanso's chance to break free. He wasn't sure how he would do it yet, but he knew he would make it somehow. Somehow, he'd return to Neopia.

_Even if it kills me, Brynn, I promise I'll come back to you._

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**Renaldo's accent is purely made up. I probably combined Italian, French, and German in this case.**

**Yes, things are taking a slightly nicer turn for Hanso. I'm trying to balance the angst without entirely ruining his personality, which is a little difficult. (Holds up wooden shield to protect from rotten tomatoes.) "Hey, this thing is practically falling apart! No wonder it cost only 5 np!"**

** Review! :)**


	7. All An Act

**This chapter is in honor of Lisa's extremely long review requesting an update. :) **

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"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, listen closely as the Great Renaldo is ready to make an announcement!"

Cheers and thunderous applause filled the arena as the megaphone blasted the message across the stadium. The audience knew what was coming next. The bleachers were packed; those who had attended the earliest performances were revisiting, some for the twentieth time, and newcomers had heard enough on the news to anxiously await the unbelievable event.

"Zank-a jou, zank-a jou all," Renaldo bowed extravagantly, his forehead nearly making contact with the floor. "And a-now, ze long avaited and ne'er before seen... Ze Ixi de Neopia, Jasco!"

The resulting cheers nearly deafened the participants in the arena. Hanso clapped his hands over his sensitive ears and grimaced. Every day for four months now things had been the same. Renaldo would wait until the end of the show, send out the 'blue fox' to do his work, and rake in the profits. Hanso hated it. It was absolutely despicable, the crowds gaping like fish as they watched a scientifically nonexistant creature go through an act just like any normal human being. Over time Hanso had been overwhelmed with learning tricks such as pony riding, trapeze, obstical courses, and worst of all, interviews with members of the audience.

The foremost tasks came rather easily; many of them were similar to Hanso's maneuvers for thieving. Talking to the crowd, however, was both a humiliation and a personal blow to his Neopian descent. Every night at the end of the show, Renaldo would choose someone from the audience to ask Hanso a few questions. Microphones ensured that the entire stadium would have the chance to hear the 'talking blue fox.' It was a nightly spectacle that made Hanso long to disappear into the floor.

Even worse than the loss of dignity was the attempted thieving that began soon after Hanso was introduced to the stage. Scientists, trophy hunters, zoo keepers, game wardens, and all manner of power hungry individuals yearned to get their hands on the the only Ixi to be known in existance. Renaldo had to enforce extra security in order to ensure Hanso's safety, which included guards, watch dogs, and more locks. Hanso was sick and tired of all the bolts and complex dials involved in his life, but the alternate option - being kidnapped and dissected on a laboratory table - made prison life more favorable. Nonetheless, Hanso would have done anything to escape the human world in its entirity.

An impatient nod from the ringmaster signalled that it was his turn to take the spotlight. Drawing in a deep breath to steady his racing heart, Hanso closed his eyes momentarily before diving off the high platform. A gasp rose unanimously from the crowd as he seemed to lose his balance, but at the last minute Hanso twisted to the side to grab an unseen wire, flipped through the air once, and neatly gripped the trapeze swing he had been aiming for. Once again the crowd shouted and clapped in amazement at Hanso's illusion of failure. The Ixi ignored the onlookers, concentrating only on the task at hand. Three bars swung silently through the air as Hanso leapt, twirled, and sprung across the expanse.

Hanso was ever mindful of the consequences that would follow a misstep. Although the safety net below was ready to be drawn taut at a moment's notice, there was no telling if the employees would be swift enough to save him from a deadly fall. Renaldo never set the net up unless neccessary, willing to risk losing his prize star in order to give the crowd a wild scare. This kept every performer on their toes, and tended to run more adrenaline through Hanso's bloodstream than normal.

At last the act was over, and Hanso gratefully slid down one of the circus poles to firm ground. Heights were never an object of fear in the life of a thief, but all the same it was always nice to know that the floor wasn't about to collapse under you. Hanso scurried away to escape the crowds, but was halted midstride as Renaldo's hand lashed out and grabbed his collar.

"And-a now, ze greatest event of ze evening! I vill pick a volunteer, and zey vill have ze chance to speak to ze one and only talking Ixi in ze vorld!"

Hanso groaned softly and folded his arms. He had hoped he would get a few minutes respite before being called out again. Hanso tapped his foot rythmetically against the sand coated floorboards as Renaldo dramatically closed his eyes and waited for 'destiny' to show him the right speaker. Waving his arm exhuberantly, he finally pointed to a group of teenagers and motioned for a dark haired brunette to step forward. The girl clapped her hands over her mouth, cutting off a sharp squeal of joy. Skipping up to the platform, she grabbed the microphone and waved to the cameras as they zoomed in.

Renaldo sighed. "Vell, here-a ve go," he muttered to Hanso. When it came to ditsy teenagers, the ringmaster had just as difficult a time keeping a straight face as the Ixi.

"So, vat is your name?" Renaldo plastered a fake smile on his face as he began the introduction.

"Who, me?" the girl exclaimed, "Demi Joel! Is this Jasco? I've been watching your show for months, and I just had to come see him! I've seen so many interviews and I never thought I'd be part of one and this is just absolutely stinkin' CRAZY and - "

"Look, miss," Renaldo interrupted, "Ve are-a on a strict time limit here, so just-a get your questions over vith and be done vith it."

"Oh, yeah! Sorry!" Demi flushed and tucked her hair behind her ears. "So," she turned to Hanso, "You're Jasco?"

"Yeah," Hanso said shortly, refraining from rolling his eyes at the obvious question.

"Are you really a fox?"

Hanso gritted his teeth in frustration. "It's called _Ixi,_" he ground out in a desceptively calm tone.

"Oh," Demi blinked. She tilted her head a moment. "So what's your favorite food?"

"Illusen's cupcakes," Hanso said without hesitation. These questions were rather repetetive.

"Never heard of those," Demi shook her head. "Are they from your homeland? What flavor are they?"

'_Give the girl a prize for her semi-original question,'_ Hanso raised an eyebrow. "Chocolate and mint."

There were a few groans from the crowd, and someone shouted out, "Ask him some **real** questions!"

"Ze girl is permitted to ask vhatever she vishes!" Renaldo roared over the megaphone. "So, please be-a quiet!"

"Do you like it here?" Demi chewed a nail in thought.

Hanso hesitated a moment, catching sight of Jake's slow nod across the stadium. Taking a deep breath, he forced the same false cheery expression he had adopted for interviews like this. "Sure... I mean, it's not at all like home, but it's... it's nice enough."

"Huh. What's home like?"

"TIME! So sorry, but ve have-a tarried too long," Renaldo pointed to his oversized watch. "Zank you for-a your time, but ze circus is closing for-a ze evening."

The crowd groaned, then slowly began to disperse. Tightwires and swinging bars were taken down, animals were herded to their cages, and the circus performers left to their separate trailers to change out of their outfits. Jake drew up alongside Hanso as the Ixi was escorted to his own apartment.

"You did well," the hooded man spoke in a low voice. "I must admit, I was concerned when you were questioned about your homeland. As always, you handled the situation adequately."

"I can't hide who I am," Hanso replied quietly. "Just because you can keep me here doesn't mean I'll ever say I belong."

"Just remember to watch your tongue." The underlying threat was clear as Rex padded up silently and sniffed Jake's hand.

Hanso allowed a fleeting smirk to grace his features. "You'll certainly have difficulty explaining to the ringmaster about his mauled star, won't you?"

"He's only a partner in this deal. Whether you live or die is my decision."

With this simple statement Jake walked away. He didn't need to say anything further to prove to Hanso that, despite Renaldo's easy going nature, his future was still endangered. Hanso sighed as his guards let him into his trailer and slid the bolts home. No one harmful could enter now, but neither could he attempt an escape.

Falling back onto the pile of colorful patchwork blankets that covered his makeshift bed, Hanso closed his eyes and imagined himself to be back in Neopia, prison bars replacing the opposite wall, and an annoyed Brynn scolding him once more for his irresponsible behavior. She was always scolding him, come to think of it. Smiling at the thought, Hanso thought back to each and every one of her lectures. Remembering Brynn was the only thing that kept him from breaking down completely. Holding to his pride had failed a long time ago.

A scratching at the door and the twisting of a bolt tore Hanso from his reverie. Rolling over, he rose to his feet just as the trailer door slammed open.

"Oops."

Hanso rolled his eyes and flopped back onto the blankets as Fred stumbled in, his hat askew and a corndog stick within easy reach of his teeth.

"Oye, Hanso! Glad you're up, sorry if I woke you. Eesh, you gotta lotta guards out there. I had to show them my i.d. _three times!_"

"What do you want Fred," Hanso asked with teasing annoyance. "And yes, this is a disturbance. You'd better have brought something to compensate."

"Done," Fred grinned as he pulled out a handful of chocolate chip cookies and tossed them to the Ixi. "Brought a friend this time, do you mind?"

"Only if they can bake," Hanso allowed.

"She made the cookies."

"Let her in."

Fred stood back with a grin as none other than Demi Joel ducked into the room. She paused and studied the room intently, admiring the hand drawn map of neopia, the pile of training equipment in the corner, the ptyrannadon mobile dangling from the ceiling, and the score of miniature plush toys decorating the shelves. Fred had slowly accumilated the collection of multicolored tigers, unicorns, frogs, huskies, birds, fish, llamas and other animals for Hanso after learning about the different species that could be found in Neopia. They gave the Ixi a semblance of home, though nothing could disguise the dingy trailer for what it really was.

Demi knelt down next to the shabby dresser, pushing aside a few misplaced objects to make herself more comfortable. "So, your name is really Hanso?"

"Exactly how much did you tell her?" Hanso shot a dirty look at Fred.

"Well, nothing much," Fred flushed. "Just a little about Neopia, and a couple of your friends, how you got kidnapped - "

"FRED!" Hanso's voice rose a pitch.

"Well I had to tell her _something_!" Fred defended himself.

"You didn't have to give her my whole life story!"

"I think it's just awful," Demi spoke up, shooting Fred a sharp glance as a warning to keep his mouth shut. "I can't believe Jake's getting away with this. There must be a law against it somewhere!"

"Not really," Fred shrugged as he chomped on the corndog stick. "Jake manages to get around everything. Not surprising he's escaped the police with this one."

"Isn't there something you can use against him in court?" Demi suggested.

"Yeah," Fred nodded as he counted off his fingers, "Poaching, illegal carrying of an unliscensed gun, cruelty to animals - "

"Ixis," Hanso corrected with a glare.

"He already escaped from jail four years ago on account of a murder," Fred continued without pause, "Armed robbery, car theft, keeping a dangerous pitbull that's already bitten eight different people - "

"And how is it that he hasn't been arrested by now?" Demi leaned back in astonishment.

Fred shrugged once more. "Dunno. He's just good at getting away from the law."

"And you're his accomplice?"

Fred scuffed his shoe on the floorboards, carefully studying the laces. "Not really. He's the only one that lets me keep my pets, though, and it's not like I have anywhere else to go."

"Don't you have parents? A guardian of some sort?"

"Look, obviously you don't have any real idea of what's going on here," Fred snapped. "I brought you here to help me get Hanso out of here, not to start meddling in areas you don't belong. Now are you going to work with us or not?"

Demi sighed. "You sure make the task difficult, don't you." She thought a moment, then decided, "All right, I'm in."

Fred grinned. "Great!" He crouched down, keeping his voice soft. "Okay, Hanso, here's what we're going to do..."

**. . . . .. . . .. .**

** No worries for those who think the story is almost over; the end is a ways away yet, but it is approaching the climax. :) **


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